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”REDD-plus Benefits: Biodiversity and Livelihoods”: Joint publication of CBD Secretariat and GIZ now available in English, French and Spanish.

‘Witnessing extinction in the flames’ as the Amazon burns for agribusiness

TRIUNFO DO XINGU, Brazil — The rolling hills of the Triunfo do Xingu protected area in northern Brazil are a patchwork of vibrant emerald green and deep burnt orange.

‘We are part of the solution and the problem’: Q&A with author Torkjell Leira

In his homeland, Norwegian social geographer Torkjell Leira is known as a leading expert on Brazil. After coming to the country as an exchange student some 30 years ago, he also began directing his studies and work at Brazilian lands and peoples.

‘Teeming with biodiversity’: green groups buy Belize forest to protect it ‘in perpetuity’

These logs are historic,” says Elma Kay, standing in Belize Maya Forest, where she has been doing an inventory of felled trees. “These are the last logs that were cut here, for mahogany and other hardwoods, left behind by the previous logging company.”

‘Relentless’ destruction of rainforest continuing despite Cop26 pledge

Pristine rainforests were once again destroyed at a relentless rate in 2021, according to new figures, prompting concerns governments will not meet a Cop26 deal to halt and reverse deforestation by the end of the decade.

‘Not a pretty picture’: South China’s forests vanish as tree farms move in

Forests in South China have been increasingly replaced by monoculture ecalyptus plantations grown for wood fiber for the pulp and paper industry. Even forests under official protection haven’t been spared.

‘Mangrove forest cover has increased in past 16 years’

As a result of joint efforts of government departments, non-profit organisations and corporations, mangrove forest cover in the Indus Delta has increased from 86,000 hectares in 2005 to over 130,000 hectares in 2021.

‘Like witnessing a birth in a morgue’: the volunteers working to save the Joshua trees

The trees are not exactly imposing. Slim and spiny, with limbs that grip small poms of sharp leaves, they look like something a child might dream up. Or maybe Salvador Dalí. Even the name, Joshua tree, sounds kind of awkward.

‘Let the forests grow’: protecting old trees key in EU’s fight against climate change

The European Union (EU) has a unique chance to effectively abate the dire consequences of the looming climate emergency on future generations — and to do so it needs to address the problems in its own backyard, a leading climate scientist said on Monday.

‘Largest living thing,’ an 80,000-year-old Utah forest, is dying, scientists warn

An ancient forest in Utah considered to be the largest single living thing in the world is dying, according to scientists. The Pando aspen, a gigantic expanse of 40,000 trees that are are all clones with identical compositions, has long been known as the “trembling giant” and covers over 106 acr ...

‘In 10 years, we might not have forests’: DRC struggles to halt charcoal trade – a photo essay

Every few seconds a handful of reddish clay is scraped out of a bucket, rolled briskly into a ball, coated in charcoal dust and left in the sun to dry. For the past three years, Nzigire Ntavuna, 39, has been making these balls on the outskirts of Kahuzi-Biega national park, in the rainforest in ...

‘Cryptic’ Interactions Drive Biodiversity Decline At Edge of Forest Fragments

The fragmentation of tropical forests weakens the effects of the “natural enemies” of some tree species, reducing their ability to maintain biodiversity, a new study published in Nature Communications found.

‘A quiet conservation success story, the likes of which aren’t told enough’

“Honey is money! And to have honey, you must have forest!” Emmanuel Binyuy is shouting to me down a truly terrible connection from his NGO’s office in the far west of Cameroon. He’s raising his voice because the line is bad, but also to make himself heard over a group of kids playing noisily in ...

‘A green desert’: Mammals take a hit in Colombia’s oil palm plantations

As oil palm plantations expand across the world, razing swaths of tropical rainforests in their path, fears about their impact on the environment have also grown. In the plantations of Colombia, a new study has found yet another way they are altering global biodiversity: by impacting the diversi ...

‘A crisis situation’: Extinctions loom as forests are erased in Mozambique

t’s nighttime on Mount Nallume in central Mozambique and the chirping of frenzied crickets fills the thick forest air. Then, toward midnight, another voice joins the cacophony.

[Commentary] An existential crisis in Indian forests

With the growing impacts of climate change, forest denotification and land use changes, one can ask the question: will our forests survive the next fifty years? But it is also pertinent to ask: what kind of forests will survive? With the growing debates on ‘greening’ and ‘re-greening’ of India, ...

Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys have been living carefree lives in the deep forests

A baby monkey on the Baima Snow Mountain has just started its journey to becoming a qualified jungle survivor 3,000 meters above sea level. It was named "Ta Ta" by the forestry staff, who constantly observe and safeguard the growth of the sweet creature. One of Ta Ta's educational adventures w ...

Your Environment This Week: Medicinal plants that heal, saving sparrows and Karnataka’s barefoot ecologist

From covering 19.49% of India’s land area in 1987 to 21.6% in 2019, India’s forest sector has had a roller coaster journey. We examine this via the lens of India’s State of Forest Reports.

Yes, this is a forest

‘We understand the value of forests beyond the price tag of timber. We recognise that our forests are crucial for wildlife to survive.‘ Tesni Clare made some interesting points in the article ‘This is not a forest’, recently published in The Ecologist, not least about the importance of healthy f ...

Yemen’s forests another casualty of war amid fuel crisis

[Sanaa] The four-year conflict in Yemen which has pushed huge swathes of the population close to famine has also left the country with a severe fuel crisis.

Yemen's unique 'dragon's blood' island under threat

Centuries-old umbrella-shaped dragon's blood trees line the rugged peaks of Yemen's Socotra—a flagship symbol of the Indian Ocean archipelago's extraordinary biodiversity, but also a bleak warning of environmental crisis.

YLE: Leppä’s views on biodiversity regeneration questioned by experts

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Jari Leppä has raised eyebrows among researchers and conservationists by estimating that forest types will adapt and relocate as forests are felled in Finland.

XXIV World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO)

5 - 11 October 2013, Salt Lake City, United States of America

XXII IUFRO World Congress: Forests in the Balance: Linking Tradition and Technology

8 - 13 August 2005, Brisbane, Australia

XXI IUFRO World Congress.  Forests and Society:  The Role of Research

7 - 12 August 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

World Wildlife day: "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet" (14:00-17:30 CET)

3 March 2021, Virtual

World Wildlife Day highlights importance of sustainable use of wildlife for people, planet and prosperity in “biodiversity super year”

Geneva/Montreal/Nairobi/New York, 3 March 2020 –Joining the global celebration of the United Nations World Wildlife Day, representatives of UN Member States, UN System organizations, international and non-governmental organizations, rural communities and youth gathered at the UN Headquarters in ...

World Soil Day 2020

5 December 2020, Rome, Italy

World Forum Launches Call for Action on Urban Forests and Green Spaces

2 December 2018: The first World Forum on Urban Forests launched a Call for Action on greener, healthier and happier cities for all. The Forum also issued a challenge to all cities around the globe to adhere to the ‘Tree Cities of the World Programme.’

Workshop on synergies between REDD+ and ecosystem conservation and restoration in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, Douala, Cameroon, 8 to 11 July 2014

Reference: SCBD/SAM/DC/CS/LM/83662 (2014-087)
To: CBD National Focal Points: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe

Workshop on Tropical Secondary Forest Management in Africa: Reality and Perspectives

9 - 14 December 2002, Nairobi, Kenya

Workshop on Harmonization of Forest and Land Cover Classifications using LCCS for the Asia and Pacific Region

4 - 8 December 2006, Dehradun, India

Workshop on Forests and Biological Diversity

28 - 30 January 2002, Accra, Ghana

Workshop on Climate change and forest genetic diversity: Implications to sustainable forest management in Europe

15 - 16 March 2006, Paris, France

Workshop for Indigenous and Local Communities in Latin America and the Caribbean on Information Technologies, Tourism and Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems - Workshop III: Forest Ecosystems, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Ecuador, 9-11 December 2009

Reference: SCBD/SEL/OH/cr/cm/68036 (2009-114)
To: CBD National Focal Points of Latin America and the Caribbean region, Indigenous and Local Community Organizations

In decision IX/13, E7 on Article 8(j) and related provisions, the Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) requested the Executive Secretary to convene, subject to the availability of financial resources, further regional and sub-regional workshops on community ...

Working to save an urban forest gave me back my confidence

I stood on the street corner — my first Saturday protest at the Fairview forest — filled with dread. Would I be able to handle the two hours on my own? I didn't like being away from home where I knew it was safe; I'd been through too many panic attacks in public spaces over the last 10 years.

Wood Wide Web: Scientists to map hotspots of fungal life

A science mission is set to explore one of the final frontiers of untapped knowledge on the planet - the fungal networks in the soil beneath us.

Within sight of New York City, an old-growth forest faces storms and sea-level rise

Bounding the southern approach to New York harbor, New Jersey's low, narrow Sandy Hook peninsula is home to an extremely rare forest: a 65-acre patch of eastern holly and red cedar trees, some of which date to the early 1800s. Close to sea level, rooted in nutrient-poor sand and exposed to wind ...

With British Columbia’s last old-growth at risk, government falters: Critics

For old-growth forest advocates in British Columbia last year, it sounded like a political turning point. In the race to preserve what’s left of some of the rarest, most ancient tall trees and endangered ecosystems in North America, the provincial government promised action.

Wildfires threatening biodiversity in Brazil’s Pantanal region

One year after devastating a huge portion of the ecosystem, wildfires are once again threatening the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetlands which Brazil shares with Paraguay and Bolivia and where once again animals, including jaguars are being rescued – or fleeing – from the fires.

Wildfires of Varying Intensity Can Be Good for Biodiversity

The spate of furious wildfires around the world during the past decade has revealed to ecologists how much biodiversity and “pyrodiversity” go hand in hand.

Wildfire's impact on water quality

A wildfire's path of destruction is not limited to things that burn—water is at risk too. When fires jump from forests and grasslands to urban areas, they incinerate household and industrial items such as computers and cars, leaving behind a stew of chemicals and heavy metals.

Why the world should care about the future of the Amazon

Two months after visiting Manu National Park in the Peruvian Amazon for Prof. Alex Trillo's tropical terrestrial biology course, a group of Gettysburgians are now in shock.

Why the Belowground Ecosystem Matters

Trees get all the credit. But for a forest, the belowground ecosystem—soil, roots, fungi, and microorganisms—is equally important.

Why private forests should not be neglected

About 120.6 million hectares or 63 percent of land in Indonesia are designated as state forest areas — 26 percent of which are degraded, according to the Environment and Forestry Ministry.

Why keeping one mature street tree is far better for humans and nature than planting lots of new ones

Thanks to Victorian street planners, many British streets were designed to be full of big trees and, with 84% of the population living in urban areas, most people are more likely to encounter trees in the streets than they are in forests.

Why has illegal logging increased in the Greater Mekong?

Recognizing the impact of the timber trade on natural forests, governments in the Greater Mekong region have come up with laws to regulate logging and timber exports.

Why forests are the best 'technology' to stop climate change

The warning from the world's top climate scientists that carbon dioxide (CO2) will need to be removed from the atmosphere to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is both a due and dire recognition of the great task in front of us. What must not be forgotten, however, is the hope that our ...

Why forest-based carbon trading is poised to go mainstream

Ten years after it dropped off the sustainability radar, forest-based carbon trading is finally poised to get off the ground for real.

Why are our rainforests burning?

Rainforests don't burn, or do they?At the moment, many of us in Australia are seeing reports of the Queensland wildfires burning down rainforests.